Electroplating is a commonly known process to deposit a metal or metal alloy coating on a substrate.
In an electroplating process a negative charge is placed on the substrate to be coated and the substrate is immersed in a solution containing a salt of the metal to be deposited.
The electroplating process can be used to deposit a metal or metal alloy coating on an elongated substrate such as a metal foil in a continuous process. However, in a continuous process one is confronted with a number of problems.
A first problem is that damages such as scratches and pinholes can be created on the metal or metal alloy coating or on any underlying layer due to the contact of the substrate with the electrical conductors. This can be problematic especially when the metal or metal alloy layer or any underlying layer is very thin.
A second problem is the high difficulty to obtain a homogeneous coating due to the inhomogeneous electrical field. This is in particular the case when large area substrates such as foils are used. This problem is even stronger for substrates having a low conductivity.